This application incorporates by reference Taiwanese application Serial No. 089212578, Filed Jul. 20, 2000.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a mechanism for ejecting a stylus, and more particularly to the mechanism for ejecting a stylus used in hand-held computers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the hand-held computer such as Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), which originated from the electronic secretary of the businessman, plays an important role in daily life. It acts as a small functional computer due to its delicate exterior and artificial intelligence (Al), and is capable of recording addresses, telephone numbers, appointments, and weekly schedules of work/homework. Furthermore, the PDA is also able to receive/send email and download/transmit data by taking advantage of the thriving Internet.
The PDA is convenient to us due to its several advantages; for example, it not only records and classifies thousands of telephone numbers, but also helps us to arrange weekly and/or daily schedules. With its small size, it can be placed into pockets, wallets, or handbags, and is easily accessed whenever needed. In addition, the special interface of the PDA, such as a touch screen and stylus make it more convenient to use.
Conventionally, the stylus of the hand-held computer is retained by friction of contact. If the stylus is needed, the friction of contact must be overcome before it is taken out and one end of the stylus must be held by a finger. This is very inconvenient and time consuming. The traditional ejecting apparatus, however, requires too large a space to meet the requirements of hand-held computers in terms of size and weight and so is not applicable to the hand-held computer.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a mechanism for ejecting the stylus used in the hand-held computers. The stylus is retained by a latching mechanism, and ejected due to the recovery force of a spring.
The invention achieves the above-identified objects by providing a mechanism for ejecting the stylus. The mechanism includes a locking apparatus and an ejecting apparatus. The locking apparatus and the ejecting apparatus are separately located at opposite ends of the slide groove, and the distance between these two apparatus is equal to the length of stylus. The locking apparatus is designed according to the theory of latching mechanism to achieve the retention of the stylus. When the stylus is inserted into the slide groove of the PDA, the movable arm of the locking apparatus exactly hooks the rabbet of the stylus resulting in the fixation of the stylus. If the stylus is needed, the release bottom is pressed resulting in the movable arm being removed from the rabbet, and the stylus is then ejected along the slide groove due to the recovery force of spring of the ejecting apparatus.